Tag Archives: rapture

PAUL AFFIRMS THE RAPTURE

13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with (Jesus) those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15 For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven at a command – the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive who remain, will be snatched away  ( ἁρπάζωG726 ) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so (from that point) we will ever be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words [1Thes4:13-18].

This is quite a significant passage. The so-called rapture (or snatching away) of God’s elect was unequivocally taught by Jesus (Mt24:40-42; Lk17:34-36), but this is the clearest teaching we have  in the epistles. The first thing to note is that Paul is not merely expressing an opinion or working from his own interpretation of Scripture: “We say this to you by the word of the Lord” (v15). As I previously observed, the wording indicates that Paul expected the return of Jesus to be quite imminent  – but I say again, that was his understanding and expectation (and no wonder if he was relying upon the Old Testament and Gospels) whereas what he goes on to write about the rapture had been received directly from God.

So it must happen, and this (broadly speaking) is what to expect. To a fanfare of trumpets, the Lord shall appear in the sky. The precise timing/sequence is unclear but around that point, the dead in Christ shall arise. By implication, that points to two resurrections for clearly, everyone who has ever lived on earth could not be raised prior to Christ’s return on the current earth– yet everyone shall be raised eventually. Paul makes this point about the sequence: “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep” (v15).

Note, the dead have “fallen asleep”, indicating that what the deceased experience now is just a foretaste of what they are destined to experience once resurrected.  The living elect then join Jesus in the air – not to pluck harps and float on clouds for all eternity, as some might  imagine. Clouds are mentioned, but this is a very temporary arrangement – for Jesus is about to judge the people remaining on earth, and as affirmed in the previous chapter, His saints shall accompany Him (3:13). That is line with what Paul taught in 1Cor 6:2-3 that the human elect are to be involved in judging the world, even angels (1Cor6:2-3). And the context (avoiding going to law courts by judging disputes within the church) makes it clear that he is referring to judiciary activity not (as I was taught as an Evangelical) judging the world in the sense that Christians had accepted Jesus as Saviour whilst the rest have not – that would make no sense at all of Paul’s argument.

As Paul exhorted, “Encourage each other with these words”. Not so easy these days as “the rapture” is by no means accepted by all Christians, probably because it (and what would follow) doesn’t fit in with the usual interpretation of God’s “Good News” –  i.e. that at the point Jesus returns, Christians go to heaven whilst the rest are despatched to hell. You will only need to have read one or two of my earlier posts to see that I am in the business of demonstrating from Scripture that such is a distortion of God’s munificent providential intentions.

Nevertheless, hell is a reality, and some (the children of the devil) will be assigned there. But that does not correlate with those who have or have not been chosen to “receive an inheritance amongst those which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32) or are “the chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1Pet2:9). Nevertheless, the latter (elect) will be the only ones living at the time who can be sure to escape God’s awesome Day of Wrath.

But after what must be done has been done – the world chastised and the truly wicked removed from it, then according to Revelation, the “New Jerusalem shall descend from Heaven” after which “the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev21:3-4).

Being from Revelation, timing, sequence and details are unclear and symbolism abounds, but Paul in Thessalonians (like Jesus in the gospels) is clear enough that the rapture of God’s elect shall come to pass just prior to Christ’s return.

*The LITTLE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE: a seven-part synopsis of the bible: – available as a paperback from Amazon or FREELY as a PDF file HERE.

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PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO THESSALONICA

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We always give thanks to God for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 constantly keeping in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope of our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, His choice of you; 5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sakes. 6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word during great affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place the news of your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us [c]as to the kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. (1Thes1:1-10)

And so to Thessalonians, and as ever I have highlighted the aspects to be commented on that are key to the broader benign providence being presented. Firstly and briefly (for it was covered in the previous post) the distinction Paul invariably makes between “God” the Father and His only begotten Son who is “Lord” (vv1&3). This distinction is crucial to making sense of the “the fellowship/administration of the secret/mystery hidden in God who created all things by Jesus Christ” (Eph3:9*), the outworking of which is key to my thesis.

Secondly, yet again Paul refers to the fact that the believers he was addressing became believers because they had been chosen by God (v4). This truth concerning election is inescapable, though many might wish it to be otherwise, as the providential implications in the context of traditional dualistic (saved/damned) theology are at best inscrutable, at worst barbaric. Not so once the three soteriological categories I am delineating are accepted – God is seen to be both gracious and fair to all. [As any good parent will know, it is impossible to be loving towards one’s children yet unfair; likewise God the Father towards those created in His image].

Thirdly, note how (typically) Paul exhorts the Thessalonian believers not so much to “look forward to going to heaven when they die” but to await the second coming (v10). As to why that has been so delayed, there will be aspects concerning timings and epochs that even Paul may not have been enlightened about (cf. Acts1:7) which I have elucidated upon in an earlier post.

Finally, though it touches on the second point, Paul refers to the “wrath to come” (v10) and the fact that faithful believers will be delivered from it. Notwithstanding the broader benign providence I am outlining, the bible indicates that in terms of those alive when Christ returns, only the elect will entirely escape God’s awesome Day of Judgement. For they will have been raptured and will come with the Lord and His angels to judge the earth (1Thes3:13 and especially 1Thes4:14).

But note very carefully what the gospels say about the matter – it again infers the three categories to which I have referred. For the wicked shall be separated from the midst of the righteous (Mt13:49 cf. Greek), the elect having been raptured. Likewise in the M25 passage, “sheep” and “goats” are separated whereas in the previous chapter, Jesus teaches that the elect will have been raptured (Mt 24:40-41).  Paul alludes to this rapture in 1Thes4:17 (cf. v14) – for a later post. Admittedly, these issues are infrequently referred to in Scripture and even then, somewhat veiled. But that is the nature of “mysteries”, especially those that were intended to be sustained until the very last days  (cf. Rev10).

NOTE

*”by Jesus Christ” missing from some manuscripts in Eph3:9 and therefore some bible versions

The LITTLE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE: a seven-part synopsis of the bible: – available as a paperback from Amazon or FREELY as a PDF file HERE. Author’s Facebook page HERE